I was interviewed by Eric Rhoads for the PleinAir Podcast. You can hear it here, or subscribe to the PleinAir Podcast on iTunes (or wherever you get your podcasts):
Archives
Californian Plein Air Paintings (2017)
Wild Turkeys, Carmel Valley. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Plein air painting in California is always a joy and I’ve said before that I believe I became a landscape painter because of the beauty of California’s Central Coast. Here are images of my recent paintings of the area. As always, I spent a lot of time scouting by car as I needed to find picturesque motifs to enlarge into larger pieces in the studio this winter.
Farm near Soledad. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Chaparral at Garapata State Beach. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Point Lobos. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen.
In an attempt to lighten my travel kit, I tried just using a cellphone to photograph my work this trip. It didn’t really work out and I apologize for the quality of the images. I’ll go back to lugging around a DSLR.
Belladonna Lilies. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Tina Painting in Big Sur. 44 x 11 in., oil on linen.
I taught a couple of workshops for Carmel Visual Arts and we painted in two of the Monterey Regional Parks District‘s parks. They’ve done a great job of setting aside some of the more beautiful parts of the Monterey area for public use and preservation.
Garland Park #1. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Garland Park #2. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen.
Garland Park #3. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen.
The Barn at Palo Corona #1. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
The Barn at Palo Corona #2. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
The Barn at Palo Corona #3. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
The last three are from around my parent’s house in Carmel Valley. I’m always really interested in the views of neighborhoods as I love art which is focused on local scenes, which people might not notices as they pass by in their daily lives.
Horses on Garzas Road. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
The One Lane Bridge. 12 x 8 in., oil on linen.
Garzas. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen.
Before heading to the East Coast we painted around Lake Tahoe and near Sacramento and I’ll try to post those images in a future update. It’s always hard keeping up with the online stuff in the summers as there is so much painting to be done.
Glazing Demo Video
I’ve been aloof with the blog posts. My apologies. I have a few longer posts in the works, and a few videos I’m working on. Here is the first one, the demo I normally do on my plein air painting courses showing how to glaze a dry landscape painting.
I’ll post the next ones as soon as I have enough free time to finish them.
Paintings from Deer Isle, Maine
Morning in Stonington. 11 x 14 in.,oil on linen (on gatorboard).
These are some of my recent plein air paintings from a trip to Deer Isle, Maine. I was teaching for the Waltham Studios, and they have a blog post on the course.
4th of July Parade, Deer Isle. 8 x 12 in.,oil on panel.
I always have a great time in Maine. The landscapes are beautiful, the towns are picturesque, the people are friendly, and the food is great. It’s also much cooler in the summers, so working outside is much more pleasant.
Lifting Fog. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Hillside, Stonington. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Grey Day, Stonington. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Greenhead Road. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Plein Air Painters, Sand Beach. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Driveway, Reach. 8 x 12 in., oil on panel.
View from Church Street, Stonington. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Lobster Boats, Burnt Cove. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Fog. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Sunset, Stonington. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
I spent a few days painting Ames Pond just outside Stonington. The colors and shapes were different from what I’m used to, and the views reminded me of some of my favorite Russian and Nordic painters.
Ames Pond #1. 14 x 11 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Ames Pond #2. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Ames Pond #3. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
Ames Pond #4. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen (on gatorboard).
I also did a couple of large plein air landscapes looking out towards the Eggemoggin Reach using my new carbon fiber easel and palette system. The idea was to create lightweight system that could fit into a small suitcase, yet would still be able to handle a big canvas in wind. You can see it in the image below:
Carbon fiber system for large plein air work.
So far so good, but there are some kinks that need to be worked out. In high winds I use a system of tent pegs for added stability.
Grays Cove looking toward Eggemoggin Reach #1. 36 x 48 in., oil on linen.
Grays Cove looking toward Eggemoggin Reach #2. 36 x 48 in., oil on linen.
Larger Plein Air Paintings – Spring 2017
Dawn over Florence #1. Oil on linen, 70 x 90 cm.
Here are some of the recent larger plein air paintings from our hill above Florence. I did a couple timelapse videos of the progress this time.
Dawn over Florence #2. Oil on linen, 90 x 120 cm.
Olive Trees in May. 90 x 120 cm, oil on linen.
I’m working on a stable and portable system for working on larger paintings on site. I’ve just finished the first iteration and I’ll be taking it back to the US to try it out next week. These were mostly done with my older Italian steel field easel set-up, which also works really well.
The next two images are of the same painting. The first (below) was painting in the afternoon, but then I decided to glaze everything orange to capture the evening light effect.
Old Olive Tree, early version with afternoon light. 70 x 90 cm, oil on linen.
Old Olive Tree, final version with evening light. 70 x 90 cm, oil on linen.
Fruit Trees in Bloom. 60 x 80 cm, oil on linen.
Garden at Villa Schneiderf. 90 x 100 cm, oil on linen.